The present invention relates generally to a machine tool, and more particularly to an interactive system between the machine tool and an operator of the machine tool.
The old-fashioned machine tool was manually operated and was thus inefficient. The CNC machine tool is a piece of modem machinery and is relatively more efficient. However, the operation of the CNC controller for later use such that the instructions of a machine operator trigger the program to bring about a specific performance of the machine tool. The drawback of the CNC machine tool is the programming which is rather time-consuming.
The primary objective of the present invention is therefore to provide an interactive system involving a mode of operation in which there is a continual exchange of information in the form of graph between a machine tool and an operator of the machine tool such that the machine tool is instructed by the operator to execute the program that is pre-stored in the controller of the machine tool. As the workpiece profile coordinate data are entered by the operator, the actual path is automatically edited by the interactive system so as to execute the finishing operation. The complicated and time-consuming work of programming the operations to be performed by the machine tool is thus averted.
The interactive system of the present invention involves a machine tool and an operator of the machine tool. The machine tool comprises a controller which is formed of a central processing unit, a control panel connected with the central processing unit, a storage unit connected with the central processing unit for keeping data and programs with regard to the finishing operation of the machine tool, a profile path editor disposed in the central processing unit and connected with the storage unit for converting the workpiece profile coordinate into the actual profile path, and pattern interface unit connected with the central processing unit and the storage unit for transmitting the signal in the form of pattern to the operator, so as to enable the controller to bring about the control signals in accordance with the instructions given by the operator. The machine tool is thus controlled by the control signals to execute a predetermined operation.